Heads or Tails

The Lanfranchi Code

The Thousand Thrones - VII

Thus far, the Altdorf Band has crossed half the Empire, their fates tied inextricably to that of Karl. They have tried to kidnap the boy, served the boy, rescued the boy and even had thoughts of killing the boy. All while, The Crusade drifted eastwards, leaving a swathe of destruction, broken lives, and madness in its wake. Now, after the most recent attempt to slay Karl – This time at the hands of a wicked Necrarch Vampire – Karl has disappeared once more, and many of the remaining members of the inner circle believe it was another kidnapping.

The Altdorf Band still plagued by diseases and something far worse… are munching down a bit of breakfast porridge when they are approached by a familiar friend. Father Helmut takes a seat by their campfire, leans in and address the band in a hushed voice.

Helmut’s Offer
Helmut tell the remainder of the Altdorf Band that Brother Frederich, a Priest of Morr on the inner council has left the camp in secrecy with Karl at his own request to visit a seer Mama Yaga in Little Kislev in Talagaad. The Altdorf band agrees to follow and Helmut arrange for passage with the Tunnelway Coachmen Company.

Talagaad
After 5 days of travel, catching in on the Morr Hearse, the band reach Talagaard. On their journey they catch some rumors:

Grand Theogonist Volkmar has recently been replaced by Theogonist Esmer due to the controversy surrounding Volkmar’s resurrection after the Storm of Chaos. Many of Volkmar’s supporters have been purged from the clergy.

A demon dog called Black Ice roams the steppes of Kislev. It’s rumored that if your meets his eyes, you’ll die.

Some folks are saying that one of Talabheim’s nobles provides refuge for Elector Count Feurbach, who secretly returned from the war horribly mutated.

Count Smogg has forced an Ogre Warband lead by Facesmasher the Terrible out of Southern Stirland.

The price of smoked carp is sure to go through the roof this winter. Stockpile all you can!

Hochland Refugees in Talagaad are taking up jobs from the Kislevites.

At Talagaad the Altdorf Band quickly seek out Mama Yaga in Little Kislev. After staking our the place a few hours, they each enter to have their fortune told…
After receiving their fortunes but no information of Karl, Mama Yaga has a sudden vision:
“Wait! I do see a boy, and he’s in great peril. The men with faces of coal have taken him from the garden of stone. If you hurry, you might reach him in time”
The band rush to the Garden of Moor where Dr. Lorenz Gasbard easily gain entry from the watch. The enter the mausoleum where a priest of moor lies dead on the floor. With expertise the band draws a few conclusions:

The pose of the priest match that of Myrmidia, the Tilean Goddess of War as depicted on a fresco in the Wurtbad temple.

His outstretched finger points towards a crumbling statue of the Tree of Hope. Dr. Lorenz Gasbard recall Sigmar having visited the Tree of Hope before attaining godhood.

The pattern drawn on the floor is known as the Miragliano Model. A key to the fundamentals of engineering, but also adopted for classification of species and by philosophers to explain logic and rhetoric.

The band immediately engage with the Tunnelway Coachmen to continue their journey towards Wurtbad.

Wurtbad Bound
Making good time, the band discover that they are on the trail of some coal burners travelling with a child, and they are catching up!
They journey is interrupted by bad dreams, and then by a group of Flagellants of the Skull. A blasphemous sigmarite faction claiming that Sigmar was corrupted towards the end of his life. Due to his dealings with Nagash. Without getting more details, it does come to fight as the party refuse to repent.
In Hermsdorf the band corners the Coal Burners / Corpus Aeternum cultists at The One-Toothed Saw. It comes to a bitter fight at the first floor where Jamal and Jafar brace the door as the Band tries for break in. Bullets are fired through the door, and stabbing back and forth takes place. In the end Konrad forces the door and the band manage to kill off the Corpus Aeternum Cultists except for their leader Farouk, who escapes out the window with the child and the Lanfranchi Triptych! Claw of Nagash amulets are found on the dead cultists.
The band follows the escape route down the steam and finally locates their hideout in a cave outside the city. Alas it is abandoned but the band does find important clues in the form of books and notes.

Wurtbad
At Wurtbad, the Capital of Stirland, they visit the Temple of Myrmidia. Here they get a good look at the Fresco depicting Myrmidia at the Tree of Hope. By helping out an old priest, they learn additional information.

The Fresco itself was made by Miragliano, a famous Tilean Artist. A copy of one of the panels on the Lanfranchi Triptych.

Merchant Prince Giovanni Lanfranchi of Remas was a highly skilled artist and theologian some 500 years before Miragliano’s time.

Lanfranchi collected artifacts and scrolls on his crisades to Araby and founded the order that would precede the Fellowship of the Shroud, a Morrian sect based in Siegfriedhof.

Lanfranchi’s expeditions landed him in Nehekhara by accident, where his army fought against the Zandri Tomb Kings. Lanfranchi later became a renowned Vampire Hunter.

A third and unknown section of the original Lanfranchi Trytyph is rumored to be buried in Lanfranchi’s crypts in Siegfriedhof.
Finally during the restoration work of a leak in the dome, Konrad discovered a secret area with a Miragliano Puzzle Box. Lorenz soon manage to break the code and learns it secret. A letter with classical words written in a circle: “Portal, Man, Blood, Earth, Life, Mother”.
Next morning there is chaos as the guards prepare for a sudden defense against Count Smogg. The Altdorf Band negotiate a quick departure with the Tunnelway Coachmen towards Siegriedhof before the arrival of the Count’s forces!